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Fourfold Rise as 95,000 Unaccompanied Children Claim Asylum in Europe in 2015

At least 95,000 unaccompanied children applied for asylum in Europe last year, four times the numbers for 2014, Bureau research can reveal. The huge increase was discovered by the Bureau during an investigation into the level of migration among unaccompanied under-18 year olds in Europe and the stark inconsistencies in the way they are treated. (Source: Bureau of Investigative Journalism)

From approaching 29 different governments for statistics, we found at least 95,070 applied for asylum in Europe in 2015, up from 23,572 in 2014. It is the first time any concrete figure has been reported for the actual scale of migration among unaccompanied minors during last year’s refugee crisis An estimate was given by Save the Children in January when the charity suggested 26,000 unaccompanied children arrived in Europe in 2015. Only 17 of the 29 countries we approached provided any data. Spain refused to cooperate with us, while France said we must wait for publication of official data later this year. Eurostat, the EU data agency, will also complete its own figures in the coming months. We also found huge differences in the way the children are treated by national authorities, with some using controversial methods such as wrist bone x-rays to determine age. The numbers raise serious questions, not only for the ability of countries to cope with the influx, but also around the children’s welfare and their uncertain future. Read more here